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Monday, October 18

In December 2008, in the midst of the deepest recession ever, the Financial Times conducted an optimism-pessimism survey in the U.S. , Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In the European countries the majority (over 60%) were pessimistic about their personal economic future. In the U.S., most were still optimistic. Regarding the economic prospects of their countries, 83% of the French were pessimistic, followed by 70% the British. However in the US the pessimism rate over national economics reached a 52%.

I have always wondered if the numbers were correct. Are Americans more optimistic than Europeans? Although we are in no position to take the answers of our French and American group and generalize, still it is interesting to know what you think and feel.

59 comments:

Personally, my views change from day to day regarding my future. Some days I feel very hopeful that things will change and get better and others I just feel like we are going deeper and deeper into a black hole. I do think that we can change, it is just going to have to take the population as a whole to work together for it. Which is sometimes hard because there are so many diverse people and ideas that at times it makes it very difficult to even get along. I think that for any change to happen we will need to become much more accepting of others’ views. Even if you do not agree with anything someone believes or is saying, you should still RESPECT that person-just like you would want them to behave towards your ideas. Even though I am split between the two, I do believe that over all I am optimistic because walking around being pessimistic all the time is rather depressing. I would much rather have hope then to just give up entirely on this nation. I know it is possible for things to get better, it is just going to take time-which does suck, but at least it is something to look forward to.

Concerning the future, I'm optimistic, I think we will be more attentive as pollution, excessive fossile fuels, consumption and CO2 emissions ... Because we won’ have any petrol anymore; our way of life will be different too. Everything will be more practical, easier...Research will evolve, and maybe we’ll find a cure/treatment for some serious disease. Nobody will be live poor... But this perception of the future is, sadly, too perfect...

I think the future is very uncertain, for example, working conditions are unsure, companies are relocated, and scientists says the sun is slwoly dying, the climate of the earth is changing, which may provoke the end of life. Some movies that deal with the future portray us as half man half robot and remind us that the earth will disappear.

Concretely, nobody can predict what the future will be but every person builds his or her future with the decisions he or she makes.

I think the future is very uncertain, for example, working conditions are unsure, companies are relocated, and scientists says the sun is slwoly dying, the climate of the earth is changing, which may provoke the end of life. Some movies that deal with the future portray us as half man half robot and remind us that the earth will disappear.

Concretely, nobody can predict what the future will be but every person builds his or her future with the decisions he or she makes.

The future , in my opinion it is indeed uncertain , so optimistic.For example as regards automobile ,water's engines (electriques already in the business) could be generalised ! And this could reduce of many the harmful emissions for our planete.The future of the earth made it by each of us, The future of the earth(ground) is made by each of us, it is ours who make it , then there is Those who are conscious of it and the others , but The future will say it to us !

qI am realistic; I try and hope for the best, but that would not be the most effective way to decisions. I try and see what is there, good or bad, and make the best choices for my family’s future. I feel that decisions are best selected, when all emotional outlooks are removed. When this occurs only the facts are left and one can accurately foresee what the best outcome will be.

At this point in our economy a person must make the most valuable decisions for their future. I feel that the best choices are; to keep a roof over your head, feed your family, save and pay your bills. In my neighborhood, being practical is hard to do. There are abandoned homes and a lot of people are not paying their house payments anymore. This has driven our home value down even further. We could say, if they are not paying why should we? I must look at this question and decide on how it would affect my current situation.

As I see it, optimism is not what I should use to make any decisions in this economy. Although, I must say from an emotional side, hope for a better future is not something you should ever lose sight of. If you do what is there to keep working for?

I try to be optimistic about my financial future, but when I really think about it or discuss it I tend to take a pessimistic tone. Currently I am pursuing a Bachelors in Science that will allow me to be a Registered Nurse and will hopefully in a few years go back to obtain my masters in anesthesiology which should position me to do fairly well. Overall though, I think in today’s society here in America a degree is not worth as much as it used to be. I think so many people have gone to college that now it is common rather than a ticket to a decent job. I have heard of cases where people who have Masters degrees are working as clerical staff, and many people who do get their Bachelor’s do not end up working in their field and find employment where ever they can even if the pay is not what they expected or want. This leads me to believe articles I have read that stated that those exiting college in the 2000’s all can’t reasonably be expected to do better than their parents have. I try to remind myself though I am entering a still expanding field and that as long as I work hard I should be ok.

Many of the French students seem to be commenting on the environment. I was wondering how they felt about their economic futures. Do you feel that you will be able to find employment in France’s economy within the next 5 years? Do you feel confident enough in your economic futures enough that you are more concerned with the environment?

A close friend often tells me that it sometimes it takes a little chaos to get a little peace. I have noticed significant changes in our country paticularly since the swearing in of Barak Obama as president. For many years I would hear my parents say that sooner or later the enemy will manifest him/herself for who they are. I would dismiss that as a youth. But now I am beginning to notice comments that are made about people that years ago one would not say in the public. It was private converation.I am not pessimistic. I am watchful of the time that we are now living in. It is not safe to even express your opinion or one would say that person is a traitor or crazy. It is not suprising to hear that there are people who are openly expressing there true selves. People are now trying to say that the president is no a citizen of this country. If that is the case none of us are, black, white, yellow ,red , or brown. My father said that ther would be those who would would manifest with that mindset. I guess he is right.But out of chaos there will be peace.Its how we make it to through the chaos is what cincerns me.

In response to what Junglist said-I have noticed the change in holding a degree as well. So many people I talk to have warned me that these days if you don't have a masters, it is hard to find a job-and even with a masters it can still be tuff. Like you, I am going into nursing and will return to school later on to pursue a further degree. I am lucky to have fallen in love with medicine as it is a fastly growing field. Good luck with your degree!

LaSandra, your post presented a challenging question. How will we come out of the chaos? I believe for some it will be faster and easier than anticipated. I do believe that it will be years before our economy will be back together. I hope that for the people, whom the recession has hit the hardest, the recovery period is an easier road than what has occurred in the past few years. I wonder how much this will affect their personalities.

If you all haven't guessed by now, I am a hopeless optimist/romantic. I will always focus on the better things of life than try to deal with the grittier aspects. Not to say that I cannot confront the bitter realities that do occur, but I really do feel that your "altitude determines your attitude." In other words, the higher your viewpoint, the higher your expectations and hope for this life.

Jung wrote about many people with degrees not even operating in the fields that they went to school for. I agree and see this as a sad epidemic. However, I do also cherish the vulnerability that accompanies such unknowing. Satisfaction and joy are not found in money or knowledge, but in being content with the here and now and making the most with what you have. At least for me anyways.

Professor Smith, you asked about the generalizations between Europeans and Americans concerning our general outlook on life. I believe because of our founding and the push for the "American Dream" that many of us are always seeking shooting stars and manifest destinies. We believe in hard work but also a little bit of luck. The size of our country compared to the amount of people that live in it is equivalent to the way we view space and freedom for everyone. I believe most of us think in the terms that this is our chunk of the world, now do something with it.

Europeans have always been much closer in proximity to their neighbors and have had millenia's of war, disease and famine to develop their outlook where as we are still but a young nation looking to be the cool kid in school. We may be much more about show and facade than other nations, but in my opinion, that is simply because we are still a young, innocent, naive, and occasionally, cocky nation.

The future is what you make of it today. As for me, I've got high hopes! =-D

I have tho say I am an optimist but in trying days and times that can be hard to do. I do believe we will as a nation change for the better. I believe jobs will be restored and the economy will get back to showing some growth, i think its just a matter of time. Now the problem is how much time.Many people here in America are suffering so badly due to the economy. I have never in all my years seen so many people who are involuntarily unemployed. I see so many people who do want better and want to work and that is where my optimism definitely kicks in because if there are so many people who want this, it can and will happen. Now I look at crime sometimes though and see it growing. But people are sometimes desparate and although that is not an excuse, it is definitely one reason crime is increasing. So I think overall, once we can get back to some stability things will even out.

I was always raised to have a positive outlook on life. I think I got it from my father. He is always smiling and dancing. I don't think there is a single person that doesn't love him for his outlook on life. When we are children all we want to do is pretend we are adults. Once the financial, emotional and physical stress of adulthood hits us we yearn for days when life was so much simpler. Since our last president, the economic condition in this country has been rather dismal. Some Americans found themselves losing their homes, vehicles, jobs and health insurance. I almost joined one of those unlucky Americans. I was relocated to Tampa with my company in 2007. My husband is in the Army, because my new promotion would elevate our family he decided to leave the Army and come down to Tampa since their were no Army bases here. The unemployment rate in Tampa was high and finding a job for him became difficult. We were on the verge of losing our home when he decided to sacrifice time with us and re-enlist. During this time of high stress, I was pessimistic not only on my future but that of my children. Once he was back in, the bank worked with us we kept our house and I am happy to say that we are once again financially sound. That taught me that things could only get better and that from the bottom you can only go up. I also realized that when you have an optimistic outlook you have less stress. So I did a little research and found that when you are optimistic, you are healthier, less stressed and live longer than pessimistic and realistic people. I found a great article about the subject:

Well I have been reading some of your posts and I have to say that I know that the condition of this country is not ideal, but it will get better. I think that we need to have a perfect mix of a realistic person and an optimistic one. If your financial future looks bleak, then as an optimist you will look at the bright side and as a realist you will do something about it. I just think that saying that your future in uncertain is very dangerous. Our future is in our hands and if you don't make it a bright one, you can't expect for anyone else to do it for you. There are situations in our life, where looking at the bright side is hard. There are days where I want to say "the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off due to budget cuts", but that doesn't help me or my children. My son's are baseball/football players. For the first time in their young lives, they tried out for a team and didn't make it. What type of advice would I give my children if I was a pessimist? Also think about this, when you look at things negatively, and spend your day thinking that things are uncertain, how well does your day go? How many times do you smile? Or just enjoy the small things like a sunset? Your future is what you make of it, whether you are a realist, a pessimist or an optimist!

I believe optimism wins.Junglist, with a degree in Nursing, why are you a pessimist? :))

Ben, your optimism is contagious!

Lauren Chantal, Jayme, Lasandra, Shoegirl

First of all the economy will recoved from this huge blow, but it is not an overnight recovery. Let us not forget that this recession actually lowered the wealth (assets) of a huge number of Americans as it dramatically affected the housing market.

However: We have a new generation of young buyers entering the market. The very same awful situation will make it easier for them to found the basis of their wealth (home-ownership).The effects of the wealth-acquisition will show in a few years.

Also, Dr. Martin Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and former president of the American Psychological Association, has shown that optimistic people surpass pessimists in three areas: "they are better able to resist depression (clinical and general), they are better achievers (demonstrated in work, school and athletic performance) and they are generally more physically healthy."

My outlook for the future has changed over the years. I supposed my overall view on life has changed as I've gotten older. When I was in middle school and high school, I suffered from depression. I was medicated and in therapy for five years before I was able to turn my brain around. Over the course of several weeks, I decided that since I had spent so many years unhappy, it only made sense that I would spend twice a much time happy. So I developed and groomed a very positive view. I trust that my life will turn out okay, even if its not exactly what I always planned and hoped for. For our nation, I except our current economic situation to turn around. I've noticed throughout history that things ebb and flow. There will prosperity followed by hardship and then prosperity hits again! Through hard work and persistence, it always changes. I have noticed that because of our recession, my veiw of money has changed greatly. When I first started working, I didn't save. I didn't plan. I spent and spent and spent. Then the tides changed at about the time I took on new finical responsibilities that comes with adulthood. There was a time when I hardly purchased anything but the necessities and saved every extra penny for fear that one day I wouldn't have an income. My spending habits will most likely reflect our recession even after its passed.

Junglist, what you said about earning a degree rings so true to me. When everyone has a degree it becomes less valuable. However, I think a nursing degree will serve you well because it means you have a particular skillset that not everyone possesses. A friend of mine worked very hard for a biology degree, but now that he's graduated he's having trouble finding a career to apply his degree to. I can imagine its very frustrating to have a degree but be working a job that doesn't require a degree.

Athena, in truth I am an optimist, i believe everything will work out; career, family life, even the environment. The earth was here long before us and will be here long after. I guess i said I was a pessimist because I can be fairly cautious. Maybe I am skeptical optimist? And the nursing degree will come soon enough. If i get accepted into USF's second degree program I will have a BSN in 4 semesters. My first degree is in computer graphics(concentration in 3d animation), which became a saturated field and I got to experience a little of the frustration Sarah mentioned, working a job that does not require a degree, when I was in the insurance industry. If I do get my masters in anesthesiology I am hoping to one day combine my 3d and computer skills with my medical/pharmaceutical knowledge and possibly help educate later anesthesia/medical students.

Ben, you sound like a guru, in a good way! Being content in what we have is the key to happiness.

Lauren, I too have fallen in love with medicine. It is truly fascinating and the spiritual rewards of helping others can be immense. I think you are correct health care is still growing and hopefully continue to do so. Good luck to us both!

I would have to say I am very optimistic about my future. When I was little I remember my mom would always say positive things to me when I was feeling down. No matter how hard time got she was always looking on the bright side of things. I think I got my optimism from my mom. Her favorite saying was if there is a will there is a way, I find that saying more true today than every; with the way our economy is these days. One of the main reasons I am back in school is because I want a better future not to say that I dint have a good one but I want the best one that I can push myself to get. I have been through financial hardships because of the recession. I lost my job, my house and my car in a one year span. I had a job that paid six figures a house with two extra rooms and I drove a BMW; know I got a job that pays me hourly, I rent a house and I drive a Volvo. Through it all I had a positive outlook on life and know my future looks brighter than ever. I believe that most people that are optimist look toward the future and not the past and it’s just the opposite for those people that are pessimist. I choose to learn from the pass but always look toward the future and that helps me to have a very positive outlook on my life and our country’s future every day.

I think Laren summed it up pretty well. Because of the extreme diversity in this country, it is sometimes hard, or so it seems, for groups to come together and decide on a collective action to improve situations. Of course, the problem isn't helped by the corporate media, it's the idea of divide and conquer. As long as the bankers on Wall Street remain in control, I'm very pessimistic about our future. If we get the right people into office, then I will become optimistic. I think it's left out of our media that this "financial collapse" was created, although about 90% of Americans realize that it was. With that being said, this extreme transfer of wealth to the already wealthy will continue as long as our Central Bank continues to operate.

Dr. Smith,I have to agree with your statement on the overall health and well being of an optimist. Most of the people I know who are pessimist do not handle stress well at all, and are either already depressed or getting there. I think the optimistic view as being a better achiever is because you can look at the positive in your performance, many pessimist have too much negative energy to enjoy their job so that would definitely show.

I feel very optimistic about my future. Although I have had some small financial troubles over the past couple years, things are looking better and better everyday. At the end of this semester, I will be done with my AA degree. This allows me a sea of opportunities for my next step in life. I plan to start the nursing program at the University of Delaware. In about two years, when I am done with that degree, I plan to get a job at a local hospital. During this job, the hospital will pay for me to get my nurse practitioners license. I feel that I am on the right track to achieving my goals. Life is looking good. I am getting out of debt and finishing school at the same time. I can see where some people can be pessimistic about the present and future. With so many people losing their homes and cars, and families living on the street, I think that those of us who have it well enough should see it that way and not always want for more. The economy has been in the pits of despair before and the country bounced back, and even flourished. Today we may be in the Great Depression of the 21st century, but slowly jobs will be created and more people will find work. In turn, more money will be spent and the economy will start to rise out of the recession. This, slowly but surely, will start to turn the pessimists into optimists.

I somewhat feel as though optimistic and pessimistic are almost the wrong words to describe my disposition on the subject. More than anything, I think of myself as realist,a realist. I feel that the future of our economy on a global scale is going to get worse before it gets exponential better. In order to stimulate the economy there are basic features that are necessary, such as: entrepreneurs, who will create a demand for consumers and thus create jobs; also technology, there is growth but we need the growth to be at where is was after the Great Depressions(it was the largest real GDP in history). So as far as a future and what I think, I think it's going take some time and I do feel that we are in the right general direction for positive improvement, but again it's going take some time. And unfortunately people are not informative enough to understand this concept. So yes, I'm a realist.

As of now, I am pessimistic about my future because I am uncertain of how our economy will be when I am ready to pursue a career and start a family. It seems as though our country is taking a downward spiral. There are high rates of unemployment in every state, and not enough jobs to support graduating college students. To me, a Bachelor's degree is not enough to secure a high-paying job. One has to further their education (Masters, PhD) in order to have a comfortable life. Several of my friends have graduated from universities, and now struggle to find employment ANYWHERE...even in retail jobs. They are stuck with student loans they are unable to pay, and there is no government support to back them up. I am reluctant to enter the "real world" for these reasons; however, I know it is inevitable. I think it will take a very long time for the economy to be sufficient enough to ensure profitable futures for all of us. I do not think it is impossible for us to recover, but I do think it will be long before it is restored. I do know the future is uncertain, and I am curious to see how we as a country will get back on track.

I agree with chantal that things will get better within our country. They have to get better. I believe it cant get any worse. However I am not ashamed to say I am uncertain about my future. It does not mean that I will not do my best to make a better life for my family. I just hope the leaders of our country will do their best to turn things around, so that we can live better lives.

I guess I tend to take a more pessimistic view of things. I honestly still feel the economic situation could go either way at this point. I admit things do seem to be going better, but to me it just seems like things could easily turn around as well. The problem with the situation as I see it is simple. All it would take to make things get a lot worse again is a few bad things happening. On the flip side it seems to take more good things happening to make up for the bad things. Not sure if that sounded confusing or not so I’ll try to say it in a short fashion. It seems to be a lot easier for things to get bad than for things to get good. So I can’t really feel to optimistic about how things are right now. But having said that things have seemed more up than down in my opinion lately so perhaps I am just being a bit pessimistic.

In response to Junglist’s comment on degrees. I have to say you make a good point there. Having a college degree does not seem like its worth as much as it used to be. Hopefully if things bounce back as far as the job market, they will start to count for more again.

I would have to say that I am definitely an optimistic person; optimism is what allows me to wake up and start a new day. I cannot change the future or prevent what has happened, but only learn from the mistakes of previous generations and try to prevent them from happening again. I agree with the French students and their overall concern with the environment, and that it is inevitable; furthermore, the process can not stopped but greatly reduced with everyone’s help.

As for job hunting, I am also optimistic that our economy will soon swing back around and will allow for many more jobs for the millions of American college graduates that happened to graduate in the midst of an economic recession. I am very thankful that I have a job, not my dream job; however, a job that provides for my necessities and have some extra for fun. Meanwhile, I am taking classes to further my education and stay competitive within the job market so when the economy will rebound I will be prepared.

To everyone talking about the economy, it sounds like you listen to our corporate media about what it will take for our economy to recover. Our Central Bank, the Federal Reserve creates all economic and monetary policy, and cannot be overridden by ANY branch of our government. Just look up the idea of a Central Bank. It is the ultimate form of control. A banker said in 1791, "Allow me to control a nation's currency and I care not who makes its laws." It's a disgrace what has happened in this country. The Wall Street Reform Act needs to be repealed. It is transfering even more wealth to the major Wall Street firms. "Reglators" are closing all of these local banks, but why not these major Wall Street firms. It's created everyone! Created! So as someone else on here said, I'm a realist, and as long as this continues, the future itself is very pessimistic for sure. That's a fact.

As of right now in my life I hop the line that runs between optimism and pessimism. Some days I'm optimistic about my life, and other days are the exact opposite. I'm sure this is the way for a lot of people. I always get the feeling that the bad last so long and the good sticks around only for a short time. Most of the time I feel like everyday is the same. It is usually a toss up of work, class, homework or a complex of all three. I think possibly my future would be a lot better if I moved out of Florida, maybe even the United States. My future I really am not too sure about. I would like to think that my future will brighten up. I know that my future has a lot to do with my actions in life, but depending on the circumstances that I find myself in I can never really be sure. I am optimistic about all the new technologies and will be developed though, and I hope that they find the cure for cancer sometime in the near future. I am also optimistic that in the future governments and countries will finally realize that act of war really accomplishes nothing other then death and violence.

Lauren:I agree with you ideal that if people were able to accept each other for who they are things would be a lot more optimistic in this society and the whole world. I also feel the strain of having one day good and the next day go sour. I guess that is just the way of life. And I also agree that the United States will once again improve itself. Nothing is perfect, not even our government nor the economy. I think once they learn from their mistakes they can eventually take steps forward towards improvement.

I'm very optimistic towards my future, however I don't blind myself to what's really going around me. Everyday in life everyone will face a learning situation and it's up to them to stay positive and learn from the situation. There's not enough people in America who will volunteer to mentor children towards a better life. Even though you may not personally change the world you can spark the brain of someone who can. I believe once we control the corruption going on between top officials and politics we can fully see changes in the world. Right now everyone is after their greed in politics and in the process we are destroying our resources to live.

Joel, I agree everyone is borderline towards optimism and pessimism. Everyday people minds change towards their future from actions or situations in any given day. Personally as a child I saw nothing but violence and envision the whole world to be the same. As an adult I now understand every negative can be a positive with the right pair of glasses. As far as your comment on the war there is no positive outcome out of it except who had the most kills and who gained the most control over someone else.

I try to be optimistic about the country's future but when I think about the politics that are involved sometimes I find myself being pessimistic. I look to the past and see how the economy has always come back up after a tough time and I find myself feeling a little more at ease; however, with politics playing a big role in the country's future it seems like nothing good is going to come from the back and forth bickering. I'm just keeping high hopes that we will come up as a nation and strive for a greater country.

As far as all the comments made towards Jungalist's post I have to say I agree. I can only hope that all the work put forth towards my degree will pay of in the end.

I feel that I am pretty optimistic in the future of the United States. As the last few yuears unfolded and people were in panic about housing markets and retirement funds I kept my head up and hoped for the best. Our national deficit is hard to believe and our kids and grand kids will be paying for it, but we live in a country where there are many freedoms, someone has to pey for it, right? I have cashed out all of my savings and the little bit that I had in a retirement fund so I could get through hard financial times but I am lucky that I was able to save a little and take a few small loans to pay certain things off. I am not sure what the future will be, so the best thing to do is think positive and get through day by day

Christina,I agree that it will probably get worse before it gets better. We go through cycles and we are int he patch and recovery phase right no or in the immediate future. It will take a while, perhaps decades , before the outlook for financial security is going to ease.

My outlook is optimistic, to an extent. With all the troubles of the current world, it is necessary to make the best of every situation in order to be successful, but you also have to be realistic. Times are tough and they will not get better over night. You have to make sacrifices and work hard, which can be daunting.

I do feel as if American's are more optimistic. It's the whole "American Dream" thing. You can be anything you want to be, you can do anything you want. Most often, American teaches one individualism, favoring individual goals over communal ones.

Bryon, I enjoy to optimism. I feel a lot of people are in your shoes, having cashed out any saving to support daily life. And yes, you are correct, here in the US we have many freedoms to be thankful for.

I like your message because it really shows the real feelings and true thoughts about our daily situation. In life the important is not to fail it is to get up if you and continue forward to reach your goals. I think it’s true that we cannot give up entirely on nation, I think what really matter is what we can do for our nation each day no matter what small or insignificant thing we think can help our people, our future generation and the planet to get better.

I like your message because it really shows the real feelings and true thoughts about our daily situation. In life the important is not to fail it is to get up if you and continue forward to reach your goals. I think it’s true that we cannot give up entirely on nation, I think what really matter is what we can do for our nation each day no matter what small or insignificant thing we think can help our people, our future generation and the planet to get better.

You known in my journey in this class I have learned that we have to educate ourselves more in the global situations and events. We have to expand our knowledge and education not only to our hometowns our country we lived but also our surroundings. Understanding the surroundings around us we can understand the effect in our own country. I am very optimistic person and I believe in our people and the future helping others each day. Just learning more about the planet and educating myself to be a better person and individual in the society that it’s constantly changing and adapting to new environmental, economical and social changes. I cannot tell you sometimes you may get pessimistic because you’re feeling and temporary situation will control you but the important is to be focus on your goals and what you do each day to feel better and be better to others. This year is been really hard to me in my personal life but learning watching the videos us things that are currently happening around us it really make me things that I need to get strong and continue forward. People around us are continuously suffering and trying to survive each day in their countries.Why we cannot be optimistic us that we have the sources and the people to improved current crisis? Believe and prepare for the future is my motto…We cannot not change the world but just doing something small can change a day!!!

I have read most of the blogs on pessimisms and optimism and most of us have positive views on life, some of us have a pessimistic view and others just don’t know. The common theme seems to be that we all are going through or have been through some hard time because of the state of the economy. I think when so many of us are thinking positive of the future; it will be ok because we make our own future by what we do in the present. From what I have read, know one seem to be setting around waiting for something to happen. We are all out in the world trying to make it happen, that’s why it’s going to be ok.

Overall, I am a very optimistic person, however, based on the trajectory of events that we as a nation has incurred in have in the past decades, I do not think my generation will be better off than my parents or grandparents. Too many senseless wars, an astronomical governmental deficit, salaries back to the ones in the eighties, a shattered job market and a bundle of empty promises from the same people that put us in this position, a pledge to a America, but the America that belongs to who?

Not to the middle class citizen in the verge of losing their home, credit and dreams; or to the college student that has paid thousands in tuition to either find no job or if found one to get paid in peanuts, no enough to even pay the student loans’ interest. The same ones who got rich in the midst of the real state bubble bursting are the ones buying portfolios of properties but at a largely discounted rate. Our government supposed to protect us from disaster, however, if someone takes a stand it is label a socialist.

The trust in good sensing government is lost as well as many freedom that supposed to be guaranteed under the constitution such as freedom of speech and separation of church and religion. How can I be free, if I cannot even publically acknowledge how am I or not leave my wealth to the ones I love without insulting someone higher principles. God bless capitalism becomes it is the one thing that prevent us from ever embracing a theological form of government. How it is possible that we can be so progressive in so many aspects but so backwards in others. Americans forget to quickly, in how we got in this mess on the first place, and who did benefit from the never-ending wars and wasteful spending.

My bet is not on the people that are desperate and just looking for the same quick fix and same old, but to a youth like me: informed, educated, creative and ready to take a stand to bring this country back into prosperity.

Please take a stand and for the short term let’s start by casting your vote. It is important for your country and for the future of us all. We can either do something ad move forward or let others pull us backwards at the starting line or beyond.

Overall, I am a very optimistic person, however, based on the trajectory of events that we as a nation has incurred in the past decades, I do not think my generation will be better off than my parents or grandparents. Too many senseless wars, an astronomical governmental deficit, salaries back to the ones in the eighties, a shattered job market and a bundle of empty promises from the same people that put us in this position, a pledge to a America, but the America that belongs to who?

Not to the middle class citizen in the verge of losing their home, credit and dreams; or to the college student that has paid thousands in tuition to either find no job or if found one to get paid in peanuts, no enough to even pay the student loans’ interest. The same ones who got rich in the midst of the real state bubble bursting are the ones buying portfolios of properties but at a largely discounted rate. Our government supposed to protect us from disaster, however, if someone takes a stand it is label a socialist.

The trust in good sensing government is lost, as well as, the many freedoms that supposed to be guaranteed under the constitution such as the freedom of speech, and the separation of church and state. How can I be free, if I cannot even publically acknowledge how I am or being able to leave my wealth to the ones I love without insulting someone higher principles. God bless capitalism becomes since it is the one thing that prevent us from ever embracing a theological form of government. How it is possible that we can be so progressive in so many aspects but so backwards in many others. Americans forget to quickly, in how we got in this mess on the first place, and who did benefit from the never-ending wars and wasteful spending.

My bet is not on the people that are desperate and just looking for the same old quick fix, but to a youth like me: informed, educated, creative and ready to take a stand to bring this country back into prosperity. Please take a stand and for the short term let’s start by casting our vote. It is important for your country and for the future of us all. We can move either do something ad move forward or let others put us back at the starting line or beyond.

Overall, I am a very optimistic person, however, based on the trajectory of events that we as a nation has incurred in the past decades, I do not think my generation will be better off than my parents or grandparents. Too many senseless wars, an astronomical governmental deficit, salaries back to the ones in the eighties, a shattered job market and a bundle of empty promises from the same people that put us in this position, a pledge to a America, but the America that belongs to who?

Not to the middle class citizen in the verge of losing their home, credit and dreams; or to the college student that has paid thousands in tuition to either find no job or if found one to get paid in peanuts, no enough to even pay the student loans’ interest. The same ones who got rich in the midst of the real state bubble bursting are the ones buying portfolios of properties but at a largely discounted rate. Our government supposed to protect us from disaster, however, if someone takes a stand it is label a socialist.

The trust in good sensing government is lost, as well as, the many freedoms that supposed to be guaranteed under the constitution such as the freedom of speech, and the separation of church and state. How can I be free, if I cannot even publically acknowledge how I am or being able to leave my wealth to the ones I love without insulting someone higher principles. God bless capitalism becomes since it is the one thing that prevent us from ever embracing a theological form of government. How it is possible that we can be so progressive in so many aspects but so backwards in many others. Americans forget to quickly, in how we got in this mess on the first place, and who did benefit from the never-ending wars and wasteful spending.

My bet is not on the people that are desperate and just looking for the same old quick fix, but to a youth like me: informed, educated, creative and ready to take a stand to bring this country back into prosperity. Please take a stand and for the short term let’s start by casting our vote. It is important for your country and for the future of us all. We can move either do something ad move forward or let others put us back at the starting line or beyond.

I’m not very pessimist for my future because humans have already managed to take out there like during the financial crises in 1929. This time, it will be more difficult because economy is not very good, environment is deteriorating, etc… but they are doing more and more efforts to remedy all of this problems.I think our children will be less affected by all of that because all countries want a quick change.And then anyway, the Mayas predicted that the end of the world is for 2012, we don’t need to worry about our future!!!

I am rather optimistic for the future which looks well for the momentI think that it is worth being always more optimistic that pesmistic because we have only good reasons for living and it is necessary to smile to life.

It was interesting to read that the United States did have a higher rate of optimism in their country then Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. I would have thought that the United States would be on the lower end.

However when I think about it, it does make sense. It makes sense to me not because of people being more happier in the Unites States, but that it is easier to make money in our country and to keep it. Traveling in Europe I realized quickly that daily living is extremely more expensive. America has much influence on the world whether we want to believe it or not. I turn on the television in Switzerland and the first show I am watching is CSI Miami dubbed in German. Hollywood by itself has an amazing latitude to help or worsen the economies.

For me, I am semi-optimistic. I do think our world economy will be better, not in the near time future nor not as great. But things will turn around gradually. Right now I want to focus on doing my best in school and trying not to worry about student loans or my bills.

Maeva-I very much agree that now there will be closer attention to helping the environment. I am seeing more cars being built that is environmentally healthier, more inventions are being created to help third world counties to receive clean water.

Nicolas- You put a smile on my face as I read your comment on not worrying because our predicted future will end in 2012 by the Mayans anyway. But that just proves everything is mind over matter. If you believe, it will happen. I believe my life will level out…and it will. J

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